--How does Frye relate his work (including his film programming) to the following movements / concepts / genres:
Minimalism -Frye would use old or disgarded films and show them as they were to "show it as something you don't have power over." As he explains it as "not trying to assert yourself over the film." He lets his film create themselves.
Fluxus - Many of his films such as The Most Important Moment in My Life (Infinite Set) use the same concepts and techniques to create art as a performance.
Performance (and performance art) - Just like Fluxus films some of his films document just one movement of the human body is slow motion such as he Most Important Moment in My Life (Infinite Set) as mention earlier.
--How does Frye respond to the question about what he “adds” to films such as Anatomy of Melancholy?
Hey explains the way he lets films do what they are doing in a minimal ways just as Warhol did with him films, which Frye believes shaped the American Avant garde.
Scott MacDonald, “Maintenance”
--What are some of the reasons for rental income growth at Canyon Cinema between 1980 and 2003? How did Canyon distinguish itself from the Filmmakers Cooperative and the Museum of Modern Art?
Canyon was constantly updating their catalogues. With the growing interest and education use with the Avant garde, the income grew tremendously. The constant updating distinquished it from other similar organizations.
--What problems and controversies did video distribution cause for Canyon in the 1990s? To what degree were the sides of the debate related to the age of the filmmakers on each side? Based upon the interview with Dominic Angerame at the end of the chapter, what was his position on the video debate?
Their original mission only mentioned 16mm and super 8mm film. I sides of the argument basically depended on what the filmmaker knew how to use. It was more about an unwillingness to learn new technology than it was an aesthetic issue. His concerns seemed to be in the logistics of distribution without copywrite or bootlegging issues, not so much with the earlier argument of video vs film.
--What were the advantages and disadvantages to funding from the National Endowment from the Arts? What controversies developed related to the publication of Canyon Cinema Catalog #5? Although the national government was picking up the tap for the new edition of the catalogue, they also had a say in what would be published. This form of censorship eventually sunk the whole project.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Pixel Visions and such : |ˈpiksəl| |ˈvi zh ən|
1. How is Sadie Benning's work related to general trends and characteristics in Riot Grrl subculture? How is Riot Grrl subculture similar to and different from punk subculture?
Although Bennings stylistic choices and raw content was slimier to Riot Grrrl subculture, her recognition by institutional film studies groups was completely in direct opposition on the stand point of this subculture. Riot Grrl was apposed to any mainstream support what so ever. Althought it seem somewhat out of Bennings control to predict the reception of her film, this is what split them apart.
2. Why does Milliken refer to Benning's work as visual essays? What are the advantages of viewing the work in relation to this genre? What is meant by "radical feminist essayistic" form?
Benning uses the techniques of found tav and film footage, scrawled messages magazines cut outs and samples of pop music to make a scrap book of personal experience in her films. Thes visual and audible queues give us an insight into her experience just as other diary films do, just in a different way. Benning deals with issues of gender sexually, homosexually, and age from a young (16 years old) female point of view.
Keller and Ward, "Matthew Barney and the Paradox of the Neo-Avant-Garde Blockbuster"
3. What has changed in the gallery art world that allows Barney to describe his work as “sculpture”? In other words, how has the definition of sculpture changed since the 1960s, and why?
The used of crossing media and technology has allowed the term sculpture to become "baggier" or less concrete. It now includes video, performance pieces, and architecture. Each conform to the concerns of sculpture such as the emphasis of geometric forms, but medium wise they are unrelated.
4. Tricky but important question: Why was minimalist sculpture seen as a reaction against the “modernist hymns to the purity and specificity of aesthetic experience”? In other words: Why do they say that minimalist sculpture is post-modernist?
Minimalist sculpture just as in Fluxus films left the audience will little to keep their interest. This allows them to make relationships with the minute details of the art and their specific retaliationship with the "object",whatever it may be.
5. Describe the role of the body in the works of Vito Acconci and Chris Burden. You may wish to consult the following links to supplement the descriptions in the readings:
These artist use the human body as their canvas and their subject's performance or reactions as the medium.
Walley, "Modes of Film Practice in the Avant-Garde"
6. What is meant by “mode of film practice”? Give two well known examples of non-experimental modes of film practice. Why does Walley argue that the concept of the mode of film practice can help distinguish between the experimental film and gallery art worlds?
Films is the same mode of film practice "refer to the cluster of historically bound institutions, practices and concepts that form a context within which cinematic mead are used." What all that means is films made similarly that deal with the same concerns. Walley says there is more behind this definition. Distribution, exhibition and reception play a role in the mode of film production as well. Hollywood and Independent cinema are the most prominent modes of film production in the US as of now. Bigger Hollywood studios work with Independent producers to fund smaller projects. Walley explains that some Avant garde film fit in galleries because of techniques used by the filmmakers match those of the artists in the gallery. Similar exploration of different art forms allow films to make their way into galleries.
7. What are some of the key differences between the experimental and gallery art worlds in terms of production and distribution?
Experimental films are defined by the their "division of labour." In most accepts the filmmaker controls everything. He calls it an "collaborative effort. On the other hand artist film are more so collaborative. The difference in exhibition is simply Avant garde filmmakers make little money while art house filmmakers capitalize more so as painters and sculptors do. As is avant garde filmmakers rarely sell actually prints of their film, but artist filmmakers budget the sales of their film just as any painter of book makers or sculptor or print maker would.
Although Bennings stylistic choices and raw content was slimier to Riot Grrrl subculture, her recognition by institutional film studies groups was completely in direct opposition on the stand point of this subculture. Riot Grrl was apposed to any mainstream support what so ever. Althought it seem somewhat out of Bennings control to predict the reception of her film, this is what split them apart.
2. Why does Milliken refer to Benning's work as visual essays? What are the advantages of viewing the work in relation to this genre? What is meant by "radical feminist essayistic" form?
Benning uses the techniques of found tav and film footage, scrawled messages magazines cut outs and samples of pop music to make a scrap book of personal experience in her films. Thes visual and audible queues give us an insight into her experience just as other diary films do, just in a different way. Benning deals with issues of gender sexually, homosexually, and age from a young (16 years old) female point of view.
Keller and Ward, "Matthew Barney and the Paradox of the Neo-Avant-Garde Blockbuster"
3. What has changed in the gallery art world that allows Barney to describe his work as “sculpture”? In other words, how has the definition of sculpture changed since the 1960s, and why?
The used of crossing media and technology has allowed the term sculpture to become "baggier" or less concrete. It now includes video, performance pieces, and architecture. Each conform to the concerns of sculpture such as the emphasis of geometric forms, but medium wise they are unrelated.
4. Tricky but important question: Why was minimalist sculpture seen as a reaction against the “modernist hymns to the purity and specificity of aesthetic experience”? In other words: Why do they say that minimalist sculpture is post-modernist?
Minimalist sculpture just as in Fluxus films left the audience will little to keep their interest. This allows them to make relationships with the minute details of the art and their specific retaliationship with the "object",whatever it may be.
5. Describe the role of the body in the works of Vito Acconci and Chris Burden. You may wish to consult the following links to supplement the descriptions in the readings:
These artist use the human body as their canvas and their subject's performance or reactions as the medium.
Walley, "Modes of Film Practice in the Avant-Garde"
6. What is meant by “mode of film practice”? Give two well known examples of non-experimental modes of film practice. Why does Walley argue that the concept of the mode of film practice can help distinguish between the experimental film and gallery art worlds?
Films is the same mode of film practice "refer to the cluster of historically bound institutions, practices and concepts that form a context within which cinematic mead are used." What all that means is films made similarly that deal with the same concerns. Walley says there is more behind this definition. Distribution, exhibition and reception play a role in the mode of film production as well. Hollywood and Independent cinema are the most prominent modes of film production in the US as of now. Bigger Hollywood studios work with Independent producers to fund smaller projects. Walley explains that some Avant garde film fit in galleries because of techniques used by the filmmakers match those of the artists in the gallery. Similar exploration of different art forms allow films to make their way into galleries.
7. What are some of the key differences between the experimental and gallery art worlds in terms of production and distribution?
Experimental films are defined by the their "division of labour." In most accepts the filmmaker controls everything. He calls it an "collaborative effort. On the other hand artist film are more so collaborative. The difference in exhibition is simply Avant garde filmmakers make little money while art house filmmakers capitalize more so as painters and sculptors do. As is avant garde filmmakers rarely sell actually prints of their film, but artist filmmakers budget the sales of their film just as any painter of book makers or sculptor or print maker would.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Tribulation Lost article? - |ˌtribyəˈlā sh ən|
First, respond to Tribulation 99 in relation to Zryd's description of student responses in his own classes.
Michael Zryd, “Found Footage Film as Discursive Metahistory: Craig Baldwin’s Tribulation 99”
1. Explain Paul Arthur's distinction between the "realist" use of found footage and the "figurative" use of found footage. Which becomes important in Tribulation 99 and why?
I cant seem to find the article??
Marc Masters, “The Offenders: No Wave Cinema”
2. Name at least three similarities between the punk music scene and the punk/no-wave filmmaking scene, in terms of technology, style, and community.
No wave filmmakers were all about cheap and easy means of film production just as the punks were without their means of musically production. He campers the slide guitar to a super 8 camera. The musician and filmmakers were often untrained, and used each other mutually. Musicians would stand in as actors and the filmmakers would make music videos or documentary in the punk tradition for the musicians. The films were often made very quickly in a "run and gun" style much like the aggressive unpracticed punk music.
William Wees, “Peggy’s Playhouse: Contesting the Modernist Paradigm”
3. According to Wees, what are the 5 characteristics of the modernist paradigm dominating North American avant-garde filmmaking before the 1980s?
These characteristics include fluild handheld camera movement, slow motion, negative images , super imposition, extensive close ups and light and dark patterns.
4. Given the 5 characteristics above, how does Awhesh reject or question each of them (give examples from throughout the article). Awhesh wasn't about the idea of high art. He films were often improvisational. She even refers to herself and an under schemer. He films had the a ingrained raw type of feeling. He camera work was far from fluid, it was very jerky and spontaneous.
5. What does Ahwesh mean by rejecting the “aesthetics of mastery” and how is this related to punk filmmaking?
This is her way of saying shes not out there to make 'high art'. He films were that of a non-professional aestectic and style. The whole idea of punk was to go against the establishment, therefore punk film would in tern go against the established film doctrine as well.
6. Why does Wees argue that The Color of Love subverts conventional wisdom about mainstream pornography?
She said mainstream pornography revolves around the phallus, but Ahwesh forcuses this found footage around a flaccid penis. This symbolizes the stripping of power from the erect male penis and reducing it to be powerless.
7. In what ways does Awhesh transform images from Tomb Raider in She Puppet?
Awhesh attempts to resist the bang bang run run persona the is Laura Croft from the video game Tomb raider. She sublimeness the soundtrack with first person feminist literature and spoken word. As opposed to being able to control the character like in the video game Awhesh has planned out specifically where laura will go. This another way she takes the power away from the male dominated industry.
Michael Zryd, “Found Footage Film as Discursive Metahistory: Craig Baldwin’s Tribulation 99”
1. Explain Paul Arthur's distinction between the "realist" use of found footage and the "figurative" use of found footage. Which becomes important in Tribulation 99 and why?
I cant seem to find the article??
Marc Masters, “The Offenders: No Wave Cinema”
2. Name at least three similarities between the punk music scene and the punk/no-wave filmmaking scene, in terms of technology, style, and community.
No wave filmmakers were all about cheap and easy means of film production just as the punks were without their means of musically production. He campers the slide guitar to a super 8 camera. The musician and filmmakers were often untrained, and used each other mutually. Musicians would stand in as actors and the filmmakers would make music videos or documentary in the punk tradition for the musicians. The films were often made very quickly in a "run and gun" style much like the aggressive unpracticed punk music.
William Wees, “Peggy’s Playhouse: Contesting the Modernist Paradigm”
3. According to Wees, what are the 5 characteristics of the modernist paradigm dominating North American avant-garde filmmaking before the 1980s?
These characteristics include fluild handheld camera movement, slow motion, negative images , super imposition, extensive close ups and light and dark patterns.
4. Given the 5 characteristics above, how does Awhesh reject or question each of them (give examples from throughout the article). Awhesh wasn't about the idea of high art. He films were often improvisational. She even refers to herself and an under schemer. He films had the a ingrained raw type of feeling. He camera work was far from fluid, it was very jerky and spontaneous.
5. What does Ahwesh mean by rejecting the “aesthetics of mastery” and how is this related to punk filmmaking?
This is her way of saying shes not out there to make 'high art'. He films were that of a non-professional aestectic and style. The whole idea of punk was to go against the establishment, therefore punk film would in tern go against the established film doctrine as well.
6. Why does Wees argue that The Color of Love subverts conventional wisdom about mainstream pornography?
She said mainstream pornography revolves around the phallus, but Ahwesh forcuses this found footage around a flaccid penis. This symbolizes the stripping of power from the erect male penis and reducing it to be powerless.
7. In what ways does Awhesh transform images from Tomb Raider in She Puppet?
Awhesh attempts to resist the bang bang run run persona the is Laura Croft from the video game Tomb raider. She sublimeness the soundtrack with first person feminist literature and spoken word. As opposed to being able to control the character like in the video game Awhesh has planned out specifically where laura will go. This another way she takes the power away from the male dominated industry.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Lost Post - |ˈstrək ch ərəl| |film|
I thought I had posted these a while ago. Not sure how they never made it up on my blog.
2. How is structural film different from the tradition of Deren/Brakhage/Anger, and what are its four typical characteristics?
The modernist movement that Deren, Brakhage and Anger were a part of was more about representing dreams and vision. Structural is a "cinema of the mind father than the eye." The four formal properties of structural film are the fixed camera, loop printing, re-photography, and the flicker effect.
3. If Brakhage’s cinema emphasized metaphors of perception, vision, and body movement, what is the central metaphor of structural film? Hint: It fits into Sitney’s central argument about the American avant-garde that we have discussed previously in class
The techniques used in structural film are used to induce states of the mind. The metaphor is that of consciousness. Structural film still follows Sitney's argument about the American avant garde representing the human mind, just through different means than the modernist tradition.
4. Why does Sitney argue that Andy Warhol is the major precursor to the structural film?
Warhol as well as Fluxus (which was an influence of Warhol) techniques are the backbone of Structural film. Fixed camera and the idea of letting the film evolving in front of frame spontaneously are common techniques and themes in both.
5. The trickiest part of Sitney’s chapter is to understand the similarities and differences between Warhol and the structural filmmakers. He argues that Warhol in a sense is anti-Romantic and stands in opposition to the visionary tradition represented by psychodrama/mythopoeic/lyrical films. But for Sitney’s central argument to make sense, he needs to place structural film within the tradition of psychodrama/mythopoeic/lyrical films. Trace the steps in this argument by following the following questions: a. Why does Sitney call Warhol anti-Romantic?
Sitney says that wahol described himself as "anti-romantic", but what he means in the opposite of Abstract Expressionism, or almost a commentary on the whole romantic movement.
b. Why does Sitney argue that spiritually the distance between Warhol and structural filmmakers such as Michael Snow or Ernie Gehr cannot be reconciled?
c. What is meant by the phrase “conscious ontology of the viewing experience”? How does this relate to Warhol’s films? How does this relate to structural films?
Its the idea awareness to the viewing process in simple terms. Warhols films were often mean to be boring in order to allow one to become fixated on other aspects of the films. Screen Tests allowed the chance to study a person's face when attempting to be still. Structural films like wavelength used this idea with a slow zoom to allow the viewer to become aware of every detail in the mise-en-scene to the most extreme level.
d. Why does Sitney argue that structural film is related to the psychodrama/mythopoeic/lyrical tradition, and in fact responds to Warhol’s attack on that tradition by using Warhol’s own tactics? 6. What metaphor is crucial to Sitney’s and Annette Michelson’s interpretation of Michael Snow’s Wavelength?
The metaphor is that of all Structural film, consciousness. This idea of the film bingeing the mind rather than the eye is present in wavelength not only visually but audibly with its experimental soundscape.
2. How is structural film different from the tradition of Deren/Brakhage/Anger, and what are its four typical characteristics?
The modernist movement that Deren, Brakhage and Anger were a part of was more about representing dreams and vision. Structural is a "cinema of the mind father than the eye." The four formal properties of structural film are the fixed camera, loop printing, re-photography, and the flicker effect.
3. If Brakhage’s cinema emphasized metaphors of perception, vision, and body movement, what is the central metaphor of structural film? Hint: It fits into Sitney’s central argument about the American avant-garde that we have discussed previously in class
The techniques used in structural film are used to induce states of the mind. The metaphor is that of consciousness. Structural film still follows Sitney's argument about the American avant garde representing the human mind, just through different means than the modernist tradition.
4. Why does Sitney argue that Andy Warhol is the major precursor to the structural film?
Warhol as well as Fluxus (which was an influence of Warhol) techniques are the backbone of Structural film. Fixed camera and the idea of letting the film evolving in front of frame spontaneously are common techniques and themes in both.
5. The trickiest part of Sitney’s chapter is to understand the similarities and differences between Warhol and the structural filmmakers. He argues that Warhol in a sense is anti-Romantic and stands in opposition to the visionary tradition represented by psychodrama/mythopoeic/lyrical films. But for Sitney’s central argument to make sense, he needs to place structural film within the tradition of psychodrama/mythopoeic/lyrical films. Trace the steps in this argument by following the following questions: a. Why does Sitney call Warhol anti-Romantic?
Sitney says that wahol described himself as "anti-romantic", but what he means in the opposite of Abstract Expressionism, or almost a commentary on the whole romantic movement.
b. Why does Sitney argue that spiritually the distance between Warhol and structural filmmakers such as Michael Snow or Ernie Gehr cannot be reconciled?
c. What is meant by the phrase “conscious ontology of the viewing experience”? How does this relate to Warhol’s films? How does this relate to structural films?
Its the idea awareness to the viewing process in simple terms. Warhols films were often mean to be boring in order to allow one to become fixated on other aspects of the films. Screen Tests allowed the chance to study a person's face when attempting to be still. Structural films like wavelength used this idea with a slow zoom to allow the viewer to become aware of every detail in the mise-en-scene to the most extreme level.
d. Why does Sitney argue that structural film is related to the psychodrama/mythopoeic/lyrical tradition, and in fact responds to Warhol’s attack on that tradition by using Warhol’s own tactics? 6. What metaphor is crucial to Sitney’s and Annette Michelson’s interpretation of Michael Snow’s Wavelength?
The metaphor is that of all Structural film, consciousness. This idea of the film bingeing the mind rather than the eye is present in wavelength not only visually but audibly with its experimental soundscape.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Structural film part 1 - |ˈstrək ch ərəl|
2. Sitneys says structural film takes these previous concepts of film further into the human mind. Whereas Brahkage was trying to represent vision and Deren was trying to represent dreams, the structural film attempts to recreate consciousness (cinema of the mind rather than the eye). Characteristics include fixed camera, loop printing, re-photography, and the flicker effect.
3. I think sort of hit on this is the last answer. Brahkage’s camera is that of the eye, Structural film makes are one step further back into the brain. Structural film attempts to challenge the conciseness of its viewers through numerous aural and visual cues.
4. Warhol as well as the fluxus filmmakers used many of the same characteristics in their films, just to achieve different products. The filmmaking process was very similar (fixed camera/flicker film) and many fluxus filmmakers actually made their way into structural film in these early years.
( to be continued)
3. I think sort of hit on this is the last answer. Brahkage’s camera is that of the eye, Structural film makes are one step further back into the brain. Structural film attempts to challenge the conciseness of its viewers through numerous aural and visual cues.
4. Warhol as well as the fluxus filmmakers used many of the same characteristics in their films, just to achieve different products. The filmmaking process was very similar (fixed camera/flicker film) and many fluxus filmmakers actually made their way into structural film in these early years.
( to be continued)
Fuses - |ˈbyoōtē|
Fused may have been not only one of the most beautiful films i have ever seen but evoked the most intense emotional response i have ever experienced as well. The sex scene is an interesting thing to take about in conjunction with this film. Hollywood sex scene to me have always seemed so ridiculous in many ways. The music, the framing, the pacing, and then awkward choreographed off beat thrusting. There are few sex scene in the entirety of films I have seen that seem authentic in anyway (most seem to be French New Wave or Neorealist for what i can recall.) Fuses is an experimental documentary, so i guess that would give it so authenticity, but it still seems loosely narrative. There is clear beginning (foreplay) to climax to ending (cuddling) structure. To me the awkward or clumsy moments are the ones that make this film so real and emotional. Besides the fact that this film is manipulated and hand painted and such (which give it a scrap book, nostalgic kind of feeling), the camera work seems very sensory driven much like Brahkage's work. This idea of the camera being the eye of the protagonist comes in and out of this film. Some shots seem to be shot by the two partners who are engaging in the act and some seem to be voyeuristic (filmed by a third party/pornographic style.) The combination of the two types of footage give this internal external rhythm throughout the sexual experience. I think the used of a type of memory drive b-roll cut in and even layers sometimes is very interesting as well. I really loved it. the end.
Nostalgia - |näˈstaljə; nə-|
As I mentioned in class it took me a while to catch onto what was happening with this film. I'm not sure if this has to do with my physical state after traveling for 24 hours straight. I believe I was still trying comprehend the setting and photographs and image of them burning for a while before i started to pay attention to the voice over. Once i started to realized he was talking about the next picture coming up, the new factor made why slowly rotating mind work over time to comprehend what was happening. I remember thinking it was very simple in the beginning but by the end a was going through this complex process of anticipation. I think i was honestly most interested in the period of time when the voice over ended and the pictures remained on screen burning until it was unrecognizable. Before i realized that he was talking about the next picture i found it very arbitrary and boring. Once i figured out the pattern, this time became so important to the film. This gave me a chance to think about exactly what i was about to see. I found it soo interesting how much more important the waiting period was due to this structure.
(lawls) - |ˈidēət|
(lawls) - |ˈidēət|
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Chelsea Girls - |ˈ ch elsē| |gərl|
After the reading the Underground article I was really excited to see Chelsea Girls. I was interested how the DVD version would show the multiple projections and experimental sound design. I was a bit upset to find there was no interplay between the multiple dialogues but after watching a few sections I found it to be effective. The long interviews seemed like a ongoing conversation that i would come in and out of. The second screen served as a kinds of commercial. I never found myself bored with what i was watching and hearing. If i became detached from the interview, I would find myself interested in the visuals on the other side of the screen. The camera work in the screen without sound seemed to be more extreme and visually stimulating than the side with sync sound. I also seemed to compare these interviews to the screen tests. Although there was a lot of camera movement and the subjects were encouraged to talk and engage with the camera, the outcome was somewhat similar. The subjects became awkward and didn't know what to do in front of the camera. On of the subjects even became enraged and lashed out at a woman who seemed to be stealing his lime light. This may have been do to the drugs he shot up earlier in the scene, but i think its interesting that he reacted to extreme. By the end he didn't even know what to say, he wanted to be the focus but once he was alone again, he was at a loss for words, and continued to talk about how he got violent with her almost just to waste time. I found the first interview more visually interesting. I honestly don't even remember what the second screen was showing because i was so engaged with the interview. The man had hard red and blue lights on either side of his face that became very abstracted with the snap zooms and handheld camera movement. This shot would have been interesting enough to stand on its own, unlike the last interview. I think I would find similar trends though the whole film visually and would like to watch the film as a whole.
Monday, February 22, 2010
The Underground - |ˌəndərˈground|
J. Hoberman, Jonathan Rosenbaum, The Underground
1. What were some of the venues associated with the early underground film movement in New York City? What were some of the unique characteristics of the Charles Theater and its programming?
The Living Theater was a popular experimental film venue in which cinema 16 programed many of their films. The Thalia, The New Yorker, and Bleecker Street Cinema were other East side theaters that offered experimental viewings. The charles was a 700 seat theater which played an array of shows including musicals as well as Hollywood features. The lobby served as an art gallery of local artists as well as concert hall for jazz musicians.
2. Which filmmakers did Jonas Mekas associate with the “Baudelairean Cinema”? Why did Mekas use that term, and what were the distinguishing characteristics of the films?
Mekas used this term to describe the work of Ron Rice, Jack Smith, and Ken Jacobs. This experimental filmmakers made sexual explicit almost absurdist experimental films often using eachother as actors often using improvisation. MEkas called the “Baudelairean Cinema” "A world of flowers of evil, of illuminations, of torn and tortured flesh, a poetry which is at once beautiful and terrible, good and evil, delicate and dirty" in the Village Voice.
3. Why did underground films run into legal trouble in New York City in 1964? What film encountered legal problems in Los Angeles almost on the same day as Mekas’s second arrest in New York City?
All films had to registered under the City of New York and follow a code of ethics. Many of these underground film wouldn't pass this code, therefore Mekas never attempted to get any kinda of legal license because he didn't believe in the principals of this legal system. Kenneth Anger's Scorpio Rising ran into similar problem all the way across the coast in Los Angeles.
4. What were some of the defining characteristics of Andy Warhol’s collaboration with Ronald Tavel? What were some of the unique characteristics of Vinyl? How does Edie Sedgewick end up "stealing" the scene in Vinyl?
Vinyl was an adaptation the A Clockwork Orange written by Tavel. He only wanted to show the bear essentials of the plot. The film was shot with a single camera set up much like any other aery 1960's Warhol film. Edie Sedgewich wasn't even written into the film, and even showed up after shooting had already begun. Travel says "the camera just went berserk looking at those eyes… The film became like one of those vehicles for a famous star." Technically Edie stole the movie by just being there.
5. In what ways did the underground film begin to "crossover" into the mainstream in 1965-1966? What films and venues were associated with the crossover? How were the films received by the mainstream New York press?
In 1965 Warhol shot My Hustler, a feature length film that featured multiple locations, 70 minutes of dialogue, a camera pan, and a cut. In mid Jan of 66's MY hustler started to catch on outside of the underground world. The Cinematheque was the first venue to show this film in a large venue in february or 66. Not only were larger cround going to see underground films, but almost every magazine in the country was taking note of underground films. Othere theaters associated with this crossover were the Bridge, and the Gate.
6. Why was Mike Getz an important figure in the crossover of the underground?
Getz packaged underground film blocks and sent them to cities around the country with his uncles traveling theater. The films reach Cleveland, Dallas, New Orleans, San Diego, and San Francisco just to name a few. "[Getz] was responsible for introducing underground movies to the American heartland."
7. How do Hoberman and Rosenbaum characterize Warhol’s post-1967 films?
They described them as "nudeity-filled feature". Warhol was cashing in on the success of TheHustler and Chelsea Girls. The films I, a Man, Bike Boy, and Nude Restaraurant and The Loves of Ondine were produced in the summer of 1967. They describes them as "technically improved but spiritually coarsened."
1. What were some of the venues associated with the early underground film movement in New York City? What were some of the unique characteristics of the Charles Theater and its programming?
The Living Theater was a popular experimental film venue in which cinema 16 programed many of their films. The Thalia, The New Yorker, and Bleecker Street Cinema were other East side theaters that offered experimental viewings. The charles was a 700 seat theater which played an array of shows including musicals as well as Hollywood features. The lobby served as an art gallery of local artists as well as concert hall for jazz musicians.
2. Which filmmakers did Jonas Mekas associate with the “Baudelairean Cinema”? Why did Mekas use that term, and what were the distinguishing characteristics of the films?
Mekas used this term to describe the work of Ron Rice, Jack Smith, and Ken Jacobs. This experimental filmmakers made sexual explicit almost absurdist experimental films often using eachother as actors often using improvisation. MEkas called the “Baudelairean Cinema” "A world of flowers of evil, of illuminations, of torn and tortured flesh, a poetry which is at once beautiful and terrible, good and evil, delicate and dirty" in the Village Voice.
3. Why did underground films run into legal trouble in New York City in 1964? What film encountered legal problems in Los Angeles almost on the same day as Mekas’s second arrest in New York City?
All films had to registered under the City of New York and follow a code of ethics. Many of these underground film wouldn't pass this code, therefore Mekas never attempted to get any kinda of legal license because he didn't believe in the principals of this legal system. Kenneth Anger's Scorpio Rising ran into similar problem all the way across the coast in Los Angeles.
4. What were some of the defining characteristics of Andy Warhol’s collaboration with Ronald Tavel? What were some of the unique characteristics of Vinyl? How does Edie Sedgewick end up "stealing" the scene in Vinyl?
Vinyl was an adaptation the A Clockwork Orange written by Tavel. He only wanted to show the bear essentials of the plot. The film was shot with a single camera set up much like any other aery 1960's Warhol film. Edie Sedgewich wasn't even written into the film, and even showed up after shooting had already begun. Travel says "the camera just went berserk looking at those eyes… The film became like one of those vehicles for a famous star." Technically Edie stole the movie by just being there.
5. In what ways did the underground film begin to "crossover" into the mainstream in 1965-1966? What films and venues were associated with the crossover? How were the films received by the mainstream New York press?
In 1965 Warhol shot My Hustler, a feature length film that featured multiple locations, 70 minutes of dialogue, a camera pan, and a cut. In mid Jan of 66's MY hustler started to catch on outside of the underground world. The Cinematheque was the first venue to show this film in a large venue in february or 66. Not only were larger cround going to see underground films, but almost every magazine in the country was taking note of underground films. Othere theaters associated with this crossover were the Bridge, and the Gate.
6. Why was Mike Getz an important figure in the crossover of the underground?
Getz packaged underground film blocks and sent them to cities around the country with his uncles traveling theater. The films reach Cleveland, Dallas, New Orleans, San Diego, and San Francisco just to name a few. "[Getz] was responsible for introducing underground movies to the American heartland."
7. How do Hoberman and Rosenbaum characterize Warhol’s post-1967 films?
They described them as "nudeity-filled feature". Warhol was cashing in on the success of TheHustler and Chelsea Girls. The films I, a Man, Bike Boy, and Nude Restaraurant and The Loves of Ondine were produced in the summer of 1967. They describes them as "technically improved but spiritually coarsened."
Monday, February 15, 2010
Late Postage -|diˈstrək sh ən| of |ətˈlantis|
Mary Jordan, Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis
3. Chapter 4. What are some of the reasons suggested for Smith’s obsession with Maria Montez? What are some of your responses to the clips from the Montez films (especially Cobra Woman)?
In the film he seemed to be mesmerized by her or the memory of her in relationship to his childhood. Montez being a B rate actress fit in with the Post-modernist idea of blurring the lines between high and low art. He seemed to try and pull exaggerated almost campy performances out of the artists in his own films as well. Many of Smiths films seemed to loosely resemble Cobra Woman is costume/mise-en-scene, as if a child was trying to recreate the film with the available resources they could get a hold of. In Smith's case this was often literally garbage.
4. Chapter 5. What were some attributes of the New York art community in the 1960s, and what was the relationship between the economics of the time and the materials that Smith incorporated in to his work and films? [How could Smith survive and make art if he was so poor in the city so big they named it twice?]
As I said before he made 'trash art' using scraps of materials to create elaborate costumes and debris to make cucaloruses to further abstract his films visually. He also used old out of date film stock to cut cost as well as give the film a gritty feeling especially in Flaming Creatures.
5. Chapter 6. What problems emerged after the obscenity charges against Flaming Creatures in the relationship between Jack Smith and Jonas Mekas? What metaphor emerged from the conflict between Smith and Mekas?
There was a falling out between the two. John saw Mekas as a scavenger attempting to steel the fame/glory/travel from him, when in fact he was furthering Smiths's career and securing him a spot in american film history. Smith created the Lobster metaphor, comparing Mekas to a bottom feeder of the sea.
6. Chapter 7. What is John Zorn’s argument about Normal Love? How does his argument relate to some of the changes in the New York art world in the 1960s that we discussed in class? What are some arguments made about the influence of Jack Smith on other filmmakers (including Warhol)?
This sections on my copy of the DVD seems to be skipping a lot. From what I could understand Normal Love is about a sort of alternate reality, void of the struggle and problems of 'real life'. The city is the 60's was poor and torn with the War in Vietnam, and this film seemed to ignore the social climate completely and deliberately. The magic in the film was the escapist feeling it projected, which in some way kinda of went along with what was happening in the world, being that everyone wanted to escape the horrors. Normal Love was also described as a documentary of artist and how they live their live, which is exactly what Warhol attempts to do around the same time in New York City.
7. Chapter 9 and 10: In what ways did Jack Smith become “uncommercial film personified”? What is meant by the slogan, “no more masterpieces” and how did Smith resist commodification (or the production of art products)?
Jack smith believed that once his art was packaged and sold i became devalued and all original intend becomes lost. His solution to this was very completely finish a work of art. If he become part of the 'package' then the artist/piece relationship can never be severed. This is how he came about editing and playing live music and rearranging his films as they were playing for live audiences. The art became about the process for making a piece as opposed to a commercial packaged commodity.
3. Chapter 4. What are some of the reasons suggested for Smith’s obsession with Maria Montez? What are some of your responses to the clips from the Montez films (especially Cobra Woman)?
In the film he seemed to be mesmerized by her or the memory of her in relationship to his childhood. Montez being a B rate actress fit in with the Post-modernist idea of blurring the lines between high and low art. He seemed to try and pull exaggerated almost campy performances out of the artists in his own films as well. Many of Smiths films seemed to loosely resemble Cobra Woman is costume/mise-en-scene, as if a child was trying to recreate the film with the available resources they could get a hold of. In Smith's case this was often literally garbage.
4. Chapter 5. What were some attributes of the New York art community in the 1960s, and what was the relationship between the economics of the time and the materials that Smith incorporated in to his work and films? [How could Smith survive and make art if he was so poor in the city so big they named it twice?]
As I said before he made 'trash art' using scraps of materials to create elaborate costumes and debris to make cucaloruses to further abstract his films visually. He also used old out of date film stock to cut cost as well as give the film a gritty feeling especially in Flaming Creatures.
5. Chapter 6. What problems emerged after the obscenity charges against Flaming Creatures in the relationship between Jack Smith and Jonas Mekas? What metaphor emerged from the conflict between Smith and Mekas?
There was a falling out between the two. John saw Mekas as a scavenger attempting to steel the fame/glory/travel from him, when in fact he was furthering Smiths's career and securing him a spot in american film history. Smith created the Lobster metaphor, comparing Mekas to a bottom feeder of the sea.
6. Chapter 7. What is John Zorn’s argument about Normal Love? How does his argument relate to some of the changes in the New York art world in the 1960s that we discussed in class? What are some arguments made about the influence of Jack Smith on other filmmakers (including Warhol)?
This sections on my copy of the DVD seems to be skipping a lot. From what I could understand Normal Love is about a sort of alternate reality, void of the struggle and problems of 'real life'. The city is the 60's was poor and torn with the War in Vietnam, and this film seemed to ignore the social climate completely and deliberately. The magic in the film was the escapist feeling it projected, which in some way kinda of went along with what was happening in the world, being that everyone wanted to escape the horrors. Normal Love was also described as a documentary of artist and how they live their live, which is exactly what Warhol attempts to do around the same time in New York City.
7. Chapter 9 and 10: In what ways did Jack Smith become “uncommercial film personified”? What is meant by the slogan, “no more masterpieces” and how did Smith resist commodification (or the production of art products)?
Jack smith believed that once his art was packaged and sold i became devalued and all original intend becomes lost. His solution to this was very completely finish a work of art. If he become part of the 'package' then the artist/piece relationship can never be severed. This is how he came about editing and playing live music and rearranging his films as they were playing for live audiences. The art became about the process for making a piece as opposed to a commercial packaged commodity.
Mario Banana 1 - |ˈôkwərd|
I haven't felt that uncomfortable in a movie theater since my first advances on a girl in 7th grade during The Wedding Planner starring Jennifer Lopez.
Kiss Response - |kis|
The film that I round myself engaging in or in turn somewhat disengaging in was Warhol's Kiss. As I had mentioned in class I found myself disengaging with the actual mouths and act of kissing. This may be be due to the point someone else brought up about the viewer not seeing the initial point of contact or maybe my own homophobic feelings (not that it bothered my all that much either way). Since we come in the middle of an action and there is now arch or build up I found it easy to forget exactly what I was looking at. I started to characterize each person in the film. The man eating the girls face as aggressive/playful. The Woman in the awkward asian man scene as submissive/shy. The man opening his eyes the entire time in the first homosexual kiss as unsure/curious. Although some of these could be in part of me seeing things that weren't really there I also found other trends forming. I began to label general traits throughout the whole series of kisses as well.The more passive individuals as mention earlier who were often opening their eyes tended to be on the bottom of the kiss, where as the more aggressive tended to be male and took up most of the frame. The positions and framing seemed to be very specific for each couple as well. The more intense kisses were famed very tight and the more awkward or timid seemed to be a long shot length. This stylistic choice really exaggerated each shot differently.
(It is much easier to write these right away hope you my timely manner for this response evens outs my late Jack Smith response Sorry again)
(It is much easier to write these right away hope you my timely manner for this response evens outs my late Jack Smith response Sorry again)
Warhol - |ˈfilmˌmākər|
Callie Angell, “Andy Warhol, Filmmaker”
8. How does Angell characterize the first major period of Warhol’s filmmaking career? What are some of the films from this period, and what formal qualities did they share? What are some significant differences between Sleep and Empire?
Angell firstly describes his early work as minimalistic as most would after watching Sleep or Empire. Each are just extended still shots off a man sleeping and the empire state building. Sleep on runs 5 hours and 21 minutes compared to empires 8 hour intended length.
9. What role did the Screen Tests play in the routines at the Factory and in Warhol’s filmmaking?
Angell described Screen Tests as a "cumulative mode of serial production.” The tests were urscripted shots of the numerous celebrities and artists of the time who were testing to act in Warhol's films. These test became a individual and unique body of work that he continuously recycled for future films.
10. How does Angell characterize the first period of sound films in Warhol’s filmmaking career? Who was Warhol’s key collaborator for the early sound films? What are some of the films from this period and what formal properties did they share?
Angell described this films in some detail. Selection of the camera set up and lighting seemed to be important since most films were shot with one stationary set up. The concept was the skeleton of the film but the performance/improvisation/ chance occurrences were what really shaped these early sound films. Warhol enlisted Ronald Tavel as a screen writer for this period of his filmmaking . His first film was called Hariot which was about a cross dressing man masturbating with a banana, accompanied by spoken word poetry.
8. How does Angell characterize the first major period of Warhol’s filmmaking career? What are some of the films from this period, and what formal qualities did they share? What are some significant differences between Sleep and Empire?
Angell firstly describes his early work as minimalistic as most would after watching Sleep or Empire. Each are just extended still shots off a man sleeping and the empire state building. Sleep on runs 5 hours and 21 minutes compared to empires 8 hour intended length.
9. What role did the Screen Tests play in the routines at the Factory and in Warhol’s filmmaking?
Angell described Screen Tests as a "cumulative mode of serial production.” The tests were urscripted shots of the numerous celebrities and artists of the time who were testing to act in Warhol's films. These test became a individual and unique body of work that he continuously recycled for future films.
10. How does Angell characterize the first period of sound films in Warhol’s filmmaking career? Who was Warhol’s key collaborator for the early sound films? What are some of the films from this period and what formal properties did they share?
Angell described this films in some detail. Selection of the camera set up and lighting seemed to be important since most films were shot with one stationary set up. The concept was the skeleton of the film but the performance/improvisation/ chance occurrences were what really shaped these early sound films. Warhol enlisted Ronald Tavel as a screen writer for this period of his filmmaking . His first film was called Hariot which was about a cross dressing man masturbating with a banana, accompanied by spoken word poetry.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Artype - |ˈärtsē|
George Maciunas and Paul Sharits seemed to be my favorite Fluxus filmmakers. Their films were more visual and rhythmic. Although films like Yoko Ono's had a subtle sense of rhythm due to the grain of the film with the super slow motion images, I became more engaged with the films that manipulated this exaggeration of the acknowledgement of the the frame rate. George Maciunas's Artype was really interesting to me. He even plays with this idea of frame rate with the title playing each letter of the title in one frame. Without knowing the name of the film before hand if would be easy to miss what the title even was. Althought the film is pretty simple there is a clear sense of rhythm and a build up or climax. The pulsing circle dances around the middle of the frame, switched from white on black to black on white and then seems to explode in miniature circle fractals. Even though the frame before more cluttered with the multiple circle and squares, the pulse and rhythm continues with the fast and slow motion of the shaped flying by the frame. This film also seems to be about positive and negative shape and the relationships they hold. To me this doesn't really seem like a Fluxus film that anyone could make.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Three 3 : |əˈpäkəˌlips| |ˌpikəˈresk|
Sitney, “Apocalypses and Picaresques”
2. Why does Sitney argue that synechdoche plays a major role in Christopher Maclaine’s The End, and how does the film anticipate later achievements by Brakhage and the mythopoeic form?
As Sitney puts it “the combination of picture and sound at the conclusion of the next episode exemplifies the latter.” The End combines many seemingly unrelated shots and we as the viewer are forced to make the connection thought juxtaposition and the realization that the minor details describe the whole picture. Brahkage uses this same idea in many of his films as well. Breasts represent mountains and then a urn related shot of actual mountains takes on a double meaning. In Dog Star Man We never see the man climbing the mountain directly but throughout context and juxtaposition as well as composite modes we understand that it is happening.
3. What are some similarities and differences between the apocalyptic visions of Christopher Maclaine and Bruce Conner?
Both filmmakers explored the idea of an apocalyptic message in the form of experimental film. Conner was an artist and sculptor before he became involved with film. His films were very much an extenuation from his collage work. He used found footage to create his filmic structures as opposed to Maclaine.
4. Why are the films of Ron Rice (The Flower Thief) and Robert Nelson (The Great Blondino) examples of Beat sensibility and what Sitney calls the picaresque form?
Sitney describes these films as having elements of the ironic, absurd, anarchistic, and infantile. Each film follows the "adventures" of a questionable main character, (The flower Theif ; a wild man and The Great Blondino; a tight rope walker). Both films seems to have a beginning and end but the middle could be extended inevitably. Both films embrace "the rejection of social aspects of film."
Bruce Jenkins, “Fluxfilms in Three False Starts.”
5. How and why were the “anti-art” Fluxfilms reactions against the avant-garde films of Stan Brakhage and Kenneth Anger. [Hint: Think about Fluxus in relation to earlier anti-art such as Dada, and Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain."]
For every movement there is an equal and opposite anti-movement. These film developed in a way to combat the high art, elitist avant-garde stereotype that was become more popular. Dada art developed to poke fun at the art world and create absurdist art in a time these artists believed was becoming insane. Fluxfilms were similar in the way they used humor to satire their counter parts.
6. What does Jenkins mean by the democratization of production in the
Fluxfilms?
Fluxfilms were criticizing and parodying a mode of film production that was extremely personal and often starred the filmmaker himself/herself. The film combated the physical form as well as this means of production. If a art film was personal and anti- art film must be democratic. This 'anti-art' idea was shared by a number of people and create by them as a group.
7. Why does Jenkins argue that Nam June Paik’s Zen for Film “fixed the material and aesthetic terms for the production of subsequent Fluxfilms”? How does it use the materials of the cinema? What kind of aesthetic experience does it offer?
Jenkins the first screening of Zen for Film was the birth of Fluxfilm. Sesequent films were then able to get around production cost, lights, sets,editing, sound. The aesthetic of the film was constantly evolving. Although to most people this film was 'nothing', the dust, scratches, and other imperfections became the only details one could comprehend while watching the film. Because this film accentuates only these micro details, its is literally never the same film upon multiple viewings.
2. Why does Sitney argue that synechdoche plays a major role in Christopher Maclaine’s The End, and how does the film anticipate later achievements by Brakhage and the mythopoeic form?
As Sitney puts it “the combination of picture and sound at the conclusion of the next episode exemplifies the latter.” The End combines many seemingly unrelated shots and we as the viewer are forced to make the connection thought juxtaposition and the realization that the minor details describe the whole picture. Brahkage uses this same idea in many of his films as well. Breasts represent mountains and then a urn related shot of actual mountains takes on a double meaning. In Dog Star Man We never see the man climbing the mountain directly but throughout context and juxtaposition as well as composite modes we understand that it is happening.
3. What are some similarities and differences between the apocalyptic visions of Christopher Maclaine and Bruce Conner?
Both filmmakers explored the idea of an apocalyptic message in the form of experimental film. Conner was an artist and sculptor before he became involved with film. His films were very much an extenuation from his collage work. He used found footage to create his filmic structures as opposed to Maclaine.
4. Why are the films of Ron Rice (The Flower Thief) and Robert Nelson (The Great Blondino) examples of Beat sensibility and what Sitney calls the picaresque form?
Sitney describes these films as having elements of the ironic, absurd, anarchistic, and infantile. Each film follows the "adventures" of a questionable main character, (The flower Theif ; a wild man and The Great Blondino; a tight rope walker). Both films seems to have a beginning and end but the middle could be extended inevitably. Both films embrace "the rejection of social aspects of film."
Bruce Jenkins, “Fluxfilms in Three False Starts.”
5. How and why were the “anti-art” Fluxfilms reactions against the avant-garde films of Stan Brakhage and Kenneth Anger. [Hint: Think about Fluxus in relation to earlier anti-art such as Dada, and Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain."]
For every movement there is an equal and opposite anti-movement. These film developed in a way to combat the high art, elitist avant-garde stereotype that was become more popular. Dada art developed to poke fun at the art world and create absurdist art in a time these artists believed was becoming insane. Fluxfilms were similar in the way they used humor to satire their counter parts.
6. What does Jenkins mean by the democratization of production in the
Fluxfilms?
Fluxfilms were criticizing and parodying a mode of film production that was extremely personal and often starred the filmmaker himself/herself. The film combated the physical form as well as this means of production. If a art film was personal and anti- art film must be democratic. This 'anti-art' idea was shared by a number of people and create by them as a group.
7. Why does Jenkins argue that Nam June Paik’s Zen for Film “fixed the material and aesthetic terms for the production of subsequent Fluxfilms”? How does it use the materials of the cinema? What kind of aesthetic experience does it offer?
Jenkins the first screening of Zen for Film was the birth of Fluxfilm. Sesequent films were then able to get around production cost, lights, sets,editing, sound. The aesthetic of the film was constantly evolving. Although to most people this film was 'nothing', the dust, scratches, and other imperfections became the only details one could comprehend while watching the film. Because this film accentuates only these micro details, its is literally never the same film upon multiple viewings.
Dog Star Man Response - |dôg| |stär| |man|
I have seen a lot of Brakhage in my career here at UNCW and I have to say I really love anything he does. I have never been to sure why or really questioned it but when I started thinking about this response I felt that I needed to think a little harder about my reasons. I have never seen Dog Star Man in it's entirety but after watching the prelude I will make sure I do as soon as possible. I know a lot of people in the class seem like Brakhage in small doses but I want to experience his longer work in full. I found myself traveling through the layers and shapes and transitions from hand painted animation to live action film, with all the imperfections beautifully on display for all to see. I was not lost in a bad way. In a longer film (even thought we only watched the prelude) you get a feeling for the flow of the images on screen in a much more complete manner. I really like the transitions from shot to shot. Many were smooth and even matched graphically. I noticed a lot of circles or semicircles cut off from the frame. I also began to notice the abrupt changes such as the section where the emulsion has almost violently been scratched away the film. I think Brakhage put this film together in such a way to let you get lost and then abruptly pull back or stop the eye from being confused or overwhelmed. I think I would be able to more effectively explain why I like Brakhage a little more now. .. I think..
Monday, February 1, 2010
number 2 - |ˈnəmbər|
Sitney, “The Lyrical Film”
1. While Brakhage’s Reflections on Black is a trance film, why does Sitney argue that it anticipates the lyrical film?
Sitney called Rflections on Black a move toward "the cinema of triumphant imagination." This film focuses on a physicality of a blind mans vision represented visually on film. Sidney claims this was a a transitionally period for Brakhages work in some part due to him moving to New York.
2. What are the key characteristics of the lyrical film (the first example of which was Anticipation of the Night).
In a lyrical film we assume that the view of the camera is the point of view of the protagonist instead of actually seeing him/her on screen. We the viewer experience what they see and the camera movement is made to represent actual human sight. Lyrical film also reject the idea of being a window into illusion (juxtaposition, plot set up, on screen dialogue, etc.)
3. Which filmmaker was highly influential on Brakhage’s move to lyrical film in terms of film style, and why?
Joeseph Cornell was a surrealist collagist who gave Brakhage many new opportunities to shoot subjects that could be represented in this lyrical kind of way. He was very supportive of Brakhage's work.
4. What does Sitney mean by "hard" and "soft" montage? What examples of each does he give from Anticipation of the Night? {Tricky question; read the entire passage very carefully.]
A soft montage usually deals with colors and movements. its a more impressionistic approach to a montage. A hard montage would be more representational of reality.
5. What are the characteristics of vision according to Brakhage’s revival of the Romantic dialectics of sight and imagination? [I’m not asking here about film style, I’m asking about Brakhage’s views about vision.]
Film creates a system of 'viewing' images that make it easy for audiences to comprehend. In no way is this system truly reminiscent of human sight. Brakhage calls the camera eye a liar.
Sitney, “Major Mythopoeia”
6. Why does Sitney argue, “It was Brakhage, of all the major American avant-garde filmmakers, who first embraced the formal directives and verbal aesthetics of Abstract Expressionism.”
7. What archetypes are significant motifs in Dog Star Man, and which writers in what movement are associated with these four states of existence?
This film explores Romanticism is several ways. for example Nature consciousness,sexuality and vision obviously. Dog star Man is influenced by Blake's four realms of existence.
Sitney, "The Potted Psalm"
[This is an addition to the syllabus. After reading the introductory paragraphs, focus on the discussions of The Cage and Entr'acte (p. 47-54 and The Lead Shoes (p. 68-70).]
8. According to Sitney, what stylistic techniques are used to mark perspective and subjectivity in The Cage, and why is this an important development in the American avant-garde film?
Peterson actually has a separate camera man hired for the filming of The Cage. This allowed a more focused cinematophers touch to the film which had not been seen in more Avant-Qarde film up to this point.
9. For Sitney, what are the key similarities and differences between Entr'acte and The Cage?
Both film manipulated image through camera tricks and stop motion filmmaking, yet the cage is more of a free form art film, as opposed to the agenda and message or Entr'acte. It is more of a Dada film, using paper cutouts and the stop motion technique is more prevalent.
10. How does Peterson synthesize the seemingly incongruent suggestions of his Workshop 20 students into The Lead Shoes?
Peterson takes control of the film after all is said and done. I think he more so used the suggestion with a grain of salt to stay within the perameters of his own new of the film as a whole.
11. Compare your response to The Lead Shoes with the descriptions by Sitney and Parker Tyler.
Sitney's description is more contextual and covers the film as a whole. I picked out certain points of the film and described them in depth to represent my feeling for the film as a whole. I think my response may be a bit more negative in some ways.
1. While Brakhage’s Reflections on Black is a trance film, why does Sitney argue that it anticipates the lyrical film?
Sitney called Rflections on Black a move toward "the cinema of triumphant imagination." This film focuses on a physicality of a blind mans vision represented visually on film. Sidney claims this was a a transitionally period for Brakhages work in some part due to him moving to New York.
2. What are the key characteristics of the lyrical film (the first example of which was Anticipation of the Night).
In a lyrical film we assume that the view of the camera is the point of view of the protagonist instead of actually seeing him/her on screen. We the viewer experience what they see and the camera movement is made to represent actual human sight. Lyrical film also reject the idea of being a window into illusion (juxtaposition, plot set up, on screen dialogue, etc.)
3. Which filmmaker was highly influential on Brakhage’s move to lyrical film in terms of film style, and why?
Joeseph Cornell was a surrealist collagist who gave Brakhage many new opportunities to shoot subjects that could be represented in this lyrical kind of way. He was very supportive of Brakhage's work.
4. What does Sitney mean by "hard" and "soft" montage? What examples of each does he give from Anticipation of the Night? {Tricky question; read the entire passage very carefully.]
A soft montage usually deals with colors and movements. its a more impressionistic approach to a montage. A hard montage would be more representational of reality.
5. What are the characteristics of vision according to Brakhage’s revival of the Romantic dialectics of sight and imagination? [I’m not asking here about film style, I’m asking about Brakhage’s views about vision.]
Film creates a system of 'viewing' images that make it easy for audiences to comprehend. In no way is this system truly reminiscent of human sight. Brakhage calls the camera eye a liar.
Sitney, “Major Mythopoeia”
6. Why does Sitney argue, “It was Brakhage, of all the major American avant-garde filmmakers, who first embraced the formal directives and verbal aesthetics of Abstract Expressionism.”
7. What archetypes are significant motifs in Dog Star Man, and which writers in what movement are associated with these four states of existence?
This film explores Romanticism is several ways. for example Nature consciousness,sexuality and vision obviously. Dog star Man is influenced by Blake's four realms of existence.
Sitney, "The Potted Psalm"
[This is an addition to the syllabus. After reading the introductory paragraphs, focus on the discussions of The Cage and Entr'acte (p. 47-54 and The Lead Shoes (p. 68-70).]
8. According to Sitney, what stylistic techniques are used to mark perspective and subjectivity in The Cage, and why is this an important development in the American avant-garde film?
Peterson actually has a separate camera man hired for the filming of The Cage. This allowed a more focused cinematophers touch to the film which had not been seen in more Avant-Qarde film up to this point.
9. For Sitney, what are the key similarities and differences between Entr'acte and The Cage?
Both film manipulated image through camera tricks and stop motion filmmaking, yet the cage is more of a free form art film, as opposed to the agenda and message or Entr'acte. It is more of a Dada film, using paper cutouts and the stop motion technique is more prevalent.
10. How does Peterson synthesize the seemingly incongruent suggestions of his Workshop 20 students into The Lead Shoes?
Peterson takes control of the film after all is said and done. I think he more so used the suggestion with a grain of salt to stay within the perameters of his own new of the film as a whole.
11. Compare your response to The Lead Shoes with the descriptions by Sitney and Parker Tyler.
Sitney's description is more contextual and covers the film as a whole. I picked out certain points of the film and described them in depth to represent my feeling for the film as a whole. I think my response may be a bit more negative in some ways.
Monday, January 25, 2010
The Lead Shoes |riˈspäns|
When we began watching Sidney Peterson today I really liked his play on forward and reverse motion and simple camera tricks in The Cage. It seemed very coherent as a whole. As we continued to watch I picked up on some elements that be to be arbitrary or over used. This may just be me projecting other stereotypes about avant-garde film in the present state upon this film, but to me the repeated shots of the nude woman seemed a bit gratuitous. Not that I mind seeing a naked woman run across the screen 5 times in a row in slow motion, but it made me think more about the shots relevance. When we moved onto The Lead Shoes i found myself taking every shot with a grain of salt. It seemed that I could really tell that this film, as opposed to The Cage was though up by students as well as Sidney. It made me thing a lot about the stigmas of American Avant-garde films being just recreations of the European films of the 40's and 50's. The Lead Shoes seemed to fall into this category for me. The most obvious example was the ending. A man ripping apart what looks like a loaf of french bread sitting outside on a sidewalk at a small table. It seemed like a shot out of a french avant-garde film. I'm no 1940's california historian but the mise-en-scene and stylistic choice seems out of place to me.
Avant garde readings - |ˈaˌvänt| |ˈgärd|
1. What are some characteristics of the American psychodrama in the 1940s?
Psychodramas of the 40's through the 50's dealt with issues of sexual identity, dreams, dance, and ritual practices.
2. What does Sitney mean by an “imagist” structure replacing narrative structure in Choreography for the Camera?
Sitney describes this type of form as "isolating a single gesture as a complete film form. The idea is based of the poetic form of Imagism, and specifically it's dealings with movement.
3. According to Sitney, Ritual in Transfigured Time represents a transition between the psychodrama and what kind of film?
Ritual in Transfigured Time is a transition between a psychodrama and a trance film. Sitney says this is the beginning of the architectonic or mythopoeic form.
4. Respond briefly to Sitney’s reading of Ritual in Transfigured Time (27-28); Is his interpretation compatible with your experience of the film?
Clearly Sitney's interpretation is much more in-depth and researched than and film students first viewing of the film, but I did catch onto some of the concepts that he covered. I found the multiple views of the same action very interesting. Most would understand its a study in time by the title but the reversed/slowed/repeated actions really drive that into a viewers understanding of the film. I did not make the connection to cubism or what Sitney calls "cubism in time", but as an art student as well as a film major the idea really intrigues me.
Sitney, “The Magus”
5. Paraphrase the paragraph on p. 90 that begins “The filmic dream constituted…” in your own words.
I believe I have an older version of the book and cannot find the paragraph that starts this that phase. Sorry.
6. According to Sitney, what is the ultimate result at the end of Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome?
'All energy contain comes through the Magus.'
Scott MacDonald, “Cinema 16: Introduction”
7. What were some general tendencies in the programming at Cinema 16, and how were films arranged within individual programs?
Amos Vogel believed in juxapossitioning different forms styles and ideas. When putting together a program there would be elements of avant-garde, documentary,scientific and even education films to clash against each other's different natures.
8. What kinds of venues rented Kenneth Anger’s Fireworks?
Macdonald explains the the viewing of a film like Anger's Fireworks would be ridiculous to even consider in a convention movie house of its time (1947). Cinema 16 was a place where films like this could play without the censorship of New York City laws. Many other art houses followed suite within the next decade which allowed these films to be played under the radar of censorship.
9. What impact did Cinema 16 have on New York City film culture?
As mentioned earlier Cinema 16 inspired many other venues to battle censorship and play films that wouldn't be able to see the light of day in conventional movie theaters. Not only was Cinema 16 an exhibition venue, but it also distributed these film for home viewing before any other companies would produce these films. These two factors contributed to the growing avant-garde film community is NYC throughout the next 2 decades.
Hans Richter, “A History of the Avant-garde”
10. What conditions in Europe made the avant-garde film movement possible after World War I?
Richter describes the period fate the first World War as a climates of "social, political and cultural unrest." Inflation allowed new ideas to filter into popular culture and many artistic movement because to shape cinematography more extensively than any other period of film history even in comparison to the present.
11. If the goal of Impressionist art is “Nature Interpreted by Temperament,” what are the goals of abstract art?
The goal of abstract art is to find a way through a medium to express an over all feeling rather than the small scope of a individual's point of view. it was the idea getting rid of the uncontrolled and arbitrary stylistic choices.
Psychodramas of the 40's through the 50's dealt with issues of sexual identity, dreams, dance, and ritual practices.
2. What does Sitney mean by an “imagist” structure replacing narrative structure in Choreography for the Camera?
Sitney describes this type of form as "isolating a single gesture as a complete film form. The idea is based of the poetic form of Imagism, and specifically it's dealings with movement.
3. According to Sitney, Ritual in Transfigured Time represents a transition between the psychodrama and what kind of film?
Ritual in Transfigured Time is a transition between a psychodrama and a trance film. Sitney says this is the beginning of the architectonic or mythopoeic form.
4. Respond briefly to Sitney’s reading of Ritual in Transfigured Time (27-28); Is his interpretation compatible with your experience of the film?
Clearly Sitney's interpretation is much more in-depth and researched than and film students first viewing of the film, but I did catch onto some of the concepts that he covered. I found the multiple views of the same action very interesting. Most would understand its a study in time by the title but the reversed/slowed/repeated actions really drive that into a viewers understanding of the film. I did not make the connection to cubism or what Sitney calls "cubism in time", but as an art student as well as a film major the idea really intrigues me.
Sitney, “The Magus”
5. Paraphrase the paragraph on p. 90 that begins “The filmic dream constituted…” in your own words.
I believe I have an older version of the book and cannot find the paragraph that starts this that phase. Sorry.
6. According to Sitney, what is the ultimate result at the end of Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome?
'All energy contain comes through the Magus.'
Scott MacDonald, “Cinema 16: Introduction”
7. What were some general tendencies in the programming at Cinema 16, and how were films arranged within individual programs?
Amos Vogel believed in juxapossitioning different forms styles and ideas. When putting together a program there would be elements of avant-garde, documentary,scientific and even education films to clash against each other's different natures.
8. What kinds of venues rented Kenneth Anger’s Fireworks?
Macdonald explains the the viewing of a film like Anger's Fireworks would be ridiculous to even consider in a convention movie house of its time (1947). Cinema 16 was a place where films like this could play without the censorship of New York City laws. Many other art houses followed suite within the next decade which allowed these films to be played under the radar of censorship.
9. What impact did Cinema 16 have on New York City film culture?
As mentioned earlier Cinema 16 inspired many other venues to battle censorship and play films that wouldn't be able to see the light of day in conventional movie theaters. Not only was Cinema 16 an exhibition venue, but it also distributed these film for home viewing before any other companies would produce these films. These two factors contributed to the growing avant-garde film community is NYC throughout the next 2 decades.
Hans Richter, “A History of the Avant-garde”
10. What conditions in Europe made the avant-garde film movement possible after World War I?
Richter describes the period fate the first World War as a climates of "social, political and cultural unrest." Inflation allowed new ideas to filter into popular culture and many artistic movement because to shape cinematography more extensively than any other period of film history even in comparison to the present.
11. If the goal of Impressionist art is “Nature Interpreted by Temperament,” what are the goals of abstract art?
The goal of abstract art is to find a way through a medium to express an over all feeling rather than the small scope of a individual's point of view. it was the idea getting rid of the uncontrolled and arbitrary stylistic choices.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome - Response |riˈspäns|
Kenneth Anger has always puzzled me to some extent. I really do enjoy his shorter films like Fireworks, but longer ones like Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome always seem to leave me confused even upon multiple viewings. Now I don't think thats really a negative thing to say, but sometimes I wish I could make more of it. With Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome I tend to get lost in the colors and the layers of this very thick visual film, and as for and kind of progression whether it be vertical or horizontal without sitting down and thinking about it, I see none. So with this film i did just that. I began to this this may be the point. The layers are so extensive at some point its hard to even make out what action is on what plane. I enjoyed trying to separate out the different shots and found it very interesting when it became impossible to do so. As the film progresses the pace of the editing becomes faster and the colors become more intense. After three viewings I'm still not sure if I could tell you exactly where the climax or peek of the film is but the feeling of a build up is very present. With further research into the film Anger says his inspiration was a costume party in which each individual was to dress up as their 'madness' within. I remember thinking to myself during this viewing that it looked like an Hindu ritual ceremony on a very tight budget.
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